Apes cuddle each other when upset like humans

Apes comfort each other and manage their emotions in a similar way to humans,
rushing to hug each other when they are upset, new research suggests.

In a study of young bonobos at an African sanctuary, scientists found that the socially and emotionally “competent” among the group were more likely to cuddle other apes to comfort them when they were in distress.

In turn those bonobos were more likely to recover quickly from an upsetting experience, such as a fight. This mirrors the way that children have been found to react, suggesting the primates manage their emotions in much the same way.

The researchers believe that, as in humans, the bond between mother and offspring may play a crucial role in developing the social competence in our close primate relatives.

Authors Professor Frans de Waal and Dr Zanna Clay, from Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta, said: “Young bonobos showed the same connection between the ability to regulate their own emotions and social competence, such as developing friendships and concern for others.

Apes comfort each other in similar way to humans, study finds (Photo: Alamy)

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“Mother-reared juveniles performed far better in this regard than juveniles orphaned at a young age, thus highlighting the importance of the mother – offspring bond. Our results support a shared socio-emotional framework for human and non-human primate behaviour.”

For the study, published in PNAS journal, they looked at a range of social skills, including the apes’ abilities to sustain social interaction through play, overcome self-distress, and console distressed peers through comforting acts such as touching, stroking, kissing, and embracing.

They captured footage showing "emotionally competent" young apes rushing to hug other juveniles that were screaming after being attacked.

The study took place at a forested sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where some bonobos were born and mother-reared but most arrived as orphans rescued from illegal bush-meat and pet trades and rehabilitated using surrogate human-mothers.

As well recovering more quickly from their own distress and being more likely to comfort others, mother-reared bonobos were more socially competent and less anxious than orphans.

Previous studies of the apes have shown that they are empathetic in a similar way to humans.

Professor De Waal said: "We found indeed that bonobos who keep screaming and screaming after their own distress are the same ones who show little concern for the distress of others.

"Those who overcome distress easily pay more attention to others. We also found that orphans, who have not had the benefit of a mother helping them regulate emotions, are much worse in consoling others than mother-reared bonobos.

" It is almost as if one first needs to have one's own emotional house in order before one is ready to visit the emotional house of another. This is true for children, and apparently also for bonobos."